Heart-Less

Chapter 18

"So, you'll pass this to him?"

"Of course. And you agree that you owe me a favour?"

"Agreed."

*******

Pendragon looked at the fireball moving around his room. He stared intently at it and willed it to fade away. Instead, it just danced around the room even more energetically.

Things were declining even faster than before. First, he was burning things randomly. The slightest hint of anger was now enough to create a spark on the nearest flammable object. If he was lucky, he could put it out. Second, the things he made were refusing to obey him. Like this ridiculous fireball, which he only needed for a moment to light up his room.

A sudden flash of light caught his eye, and Pendragon turned to find a stack of files on fire. With a sigh, he reached for his tea and watered the fire, coughing as he inhaled the black smoke. At least they were merely the latest complaints from the faculty. He didn't need to read them to know what they were about.

There was a knock on the wooden doorframe.

"My apologies for the interruption, Head Wizard. But I heard that you were looking for me."

"Yes, yes, come in, Hiroto," Pendragon said as he frantically tried to kill the fireball while getting ride of the ashes.

The door slid open smoothly, and Pendragon suddenly felt grateful for the ridiculous entrance rituals. As Hiroto, kneeling, used his knuckles to cross the threshhold, Pendragon managed to extinguish the fireball. At the same time, he grabbed the burnt files and hid them under the paperwork on his desk.

"The trilateral meeting starts tomorrow, how are things going?"

Hiroto launched into his update. Apparently, everything was going fine and the Head Wizard did not need to worry. Everything had been set up, and travel schedules for the council members going to meet the Magi and the Kaiguo students had been distributed, with each recipient signing upon receipt of the schedule. Catering had been confirmed, and really, the Head Wizard did not need to worry about this at all. It was almost adorable, how earnest Hiroto could be.

"And how is Miss Ada functioning as a member of the council?"

There was a long pause. Miss Ada was fine. Well, she had not been the most cooperative of members, but it must be supposed that someone who had grown up outside their culture would not know how things worked. Not that he was suggesting that the Head Wizard was unfamiliar with Sakoku culture, far from it. The Head Wizard was as close to a native as anyone could be. But no, there were no problems now. She had been very cooperative lately, once she got over the ridiculous idea of advocating for her fellow countrymen.

"So, you assume that her placement on the council is a token one?"

Hiroto looked so stricken that Pendragon felt compelled to withdraw the question. After all, this was just the warmup for what was going to happen.

"Please, there is no need to answer," Pendragon said. "I just wanted your honest opinion on how things were going. I'll be honest, I had slightly different expectations for Miss Ada."

"My apologies," Hiroto said immediately. "I must have misunderstood the Head Wizard's purpose in putting her on the council. I apologise, and if you would tell me what you intend for her to do, I will immediately get her to do it."

Pendragon waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about this. It's nothing, really. This is your council, after all, and it is to be run your way. I just wanted an update so I know what to write for your testimonials. After all, I can see and predict how most of you do, including Miss Amiko, but Miss Ada is a wild card."